The Hickory Tree Restaurant in Smolan, Kansas
is a unique Kansas Restaurant, the food is good and the atmosphere is cool.

The Hickory Tree offers a buffet with a nice selection
of BBQ - chicken, ribs, pork chops, and beef brisket, plus a variety of
side dishes, desserts, and beverages. All that for $13 including tax. Beer
is available for an additional charge. You pay when you enter the restaurant,
then provide all of your own service including getting your beverages and
bussing your table. The plates and utensils are disposable plastic.

Hickory Tree Restaurant occupies the former Smolan High
School which operated from 1926-1950. The last graduating class had 3 members.
From 1946-1987 elementary and middle school classes were held here. The
Holzworths started a catering business out of the old school in 1993, and
3 years later opened the BBQ Restaurant. Open only Friday & Saturday
evenings and Sunday for lunch.

The dinning room in the small old gymnasium. The walls
are decorated with maps, yearbooks and old board games. The small stage
at the south end has a wonderful, old advertising curtain from another
area school.

The hallways of the building are decorated with school
items, and the top (3rd) floor has the old classrooms set up for private
dinning rooms, each decorated to the theme of the class that was held there.
I particularly liked the music room and library.

On my first visit, Hickory Tree Smolan School Restaurant
made it onto this website on the strength of atmosphere. None of the food
stood out. On my second visit, the pork steak was replaced by pork chops
and was quite good. I my most recent visit, the chicken was our favorite
meat. On just one visit, the Hickory Tree Restaurant had chopped pork on
the buffet.

The buffet includes a fairly large selection of side dishes:
mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, corn, broccoli salad, potato salad,
nutty cole slaw, baked beans, and fruit salad. Most of these are good and
my favorite is the broccoli salad.

There is usually a selection of about seven house made
desserts. I prefer the peanut butter chocolate dessert. The apple cobbler
doesn't look very impressive, but it is also very good. It would be even
better warm.

Hickory Tree Restaurant does not appear to be handicap
accessible, but you might call to check on that. Rest rooms are on the
second floor and there is also a half flight down to the dining room (gymnasium)
from the main entrance.

Gymnasium - dining room

barbecue ribs, beef brisket, pork chops, chicken and side dishes

Dessert selection

Stage at the end of the gymnasium (dinning room)

The board games decorating the dinning room walls don't really go with
the school theme, part are still kind of cool